Arrogance
by Era Yachi
Summary: Very slight bad language. Not really. It's about Amarant, and how far a certain annoying sixyearold will go to save his life. Old fic.
1. Arrogance

Disclaimer : I don't own the characters or anything else in Final Fantasy 9. Square does.  
  
(This is a little sad. It's what happens to Amarant when he runs off during the destruction of Alexandria. Please R&R!)  
  
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Zidane is a fool.  
  
Wave after wave of flames leapt at him, but every time, Amarant managed to dodge their hungry pursuit. Right behind him, an explosion rocked the entire alley, sending a stream of fire and smoke into the windows and doors of the buildings lining the street attached.  
  
He is worse than a fool. He is insane.  
  
But Amarant didn't care. Zidane was off and determined to get himself killed. The others fled, but Amarant knew that they couldn't possibly escape Alexandria in time. And to his sick, but careless realization, he knew all too well that it was too late for him to flee in time, either.  
  
He was in an alley. He didn't know where -- he'd never been to Alexandria before. But behind him was a church of some kind, or a tower. And now he faced the water. A dead end, because all that lay in the path he'd just taken was rubble.  
  
There were people all around him. They leapt into the water, some with clothes ablaze, and others not. They were panicking. Amarant already knew how to control his fear. Not that he needed to. He wasn't afraid. Everyone died some day. Today was their day, and perhaps his. He seriously doubted that the water was any kind of sanctuary at all, let alone a good one.  
  
And so, he stopped running. Even as the heat and flames roared above his head, and more bolts of fire stuck the street behind him and further ahead, he never felt afraid, nor concerned. The street was reduced to cinders, and there were bodies all around. Some alive. Most dead. Some unconcious. . .  
  
Most dead.  
  
So Zidane wanted to risk his life to save another? Amarant didn't care if Dagger was the queen or not, the only thing he could tell himself was how much of an idiot Zidane was. A mere boy -- a child, running headlong into danger because he wants to bear the burden of another. . .he is. . .a fool, he thought to himself, as he turned around, facing the destruction behind him.  
  
An unnatural, hot wind whipped at him, nearly driving him back. The streetsides were smoldering red coals and flames. Vivid bursts of heat tore through the alley, pounding at the windows, shattering them like eggshells. Rolls of flames and black magic barreled into buildings and rooftops, exploding them with ear-splitting cracks. It was chaos. It was the end of this kingdom.  
  
Amarant turned his back on the devastating scene. He could hear screams and sobs from countless woman and men as they ran about in circles, grabbing random possesions, and herding children to where they thought was safe.  
  
And so, with nowhere to go, and no desire to help anyone though there were many who needed it, Amarant lifted his head to look at the night sky. It was clouded, and the only light was the eerie glow of the embers that had once been the proud city. Alexander had destryoed Bahaumut, and still the mist monsters ravaged and destroyed the city.  
  
Bahaumut. A poweful ally. . .or a terrible enemy. This Eidolon was put to the task of evil, though. Today, he'd destroyed half the city, and then some. And though Amarant knew next to nothing about Eidolons, he knew his own magic well enough to know that a toy of destruction did not stop until it's job was done. Unless, of course, something mroe powerful destroys it first.  
  
Like himself, for example.  
  
He was a walking dead man. He knew it. . .He should have died a long time ago, days. . .weeks ago! He'd lost his honor and pride by being defeated by that idiot teenage boy. . .Zidane. He'd lost everything he'd owned, and the fool made him suffer further by allowing him to live. The humiliation of being beaten by the one he'd been sent to kill!  
  
And yet. . .  
  
And yet. That was as far as he could get. And. Yet. There was something there that screamed to be let free, but didn't make a noise. It wanted to be noticed. Naturally, that was never going to happen. But it was there, and Amarant knew it. And yet. . .and yet something told him that he was alive for a good reason. Even after being humiliated and allowed to live, even after being defeated for the first time. . .even though he hated Zidane with every ounce of his strength, he had something left. What was it? He stuck with Zidane. Why? A shadow with a debt? Or a. . . . .a friend. . .?  
  
Amarant felt his hands curl instinctively into fists. No, he was thinking like Zidane now. He was developing the weakness that he saw all too clearly in the sixteen-year-old moron. He couldn't become as thick- skulled as Zidane. There was no way he was to die today, the same day Zidane did. He was going to escape, unlike him.  
  
However, he never had the chance to. Had the next thing that happened, never happen, he just might have gotten out of Alexandria. A little, half-formed, ludicrous-beyond-imagination plan began to form in the back of his mind. Then, out of nowhere, something hard struck him from behind.  
  
It was instantanious. Amarant didn't fall over, or react to the stab of pain, but in a flash had his claws flying for the creature's head behind him. Again, something whipped for his head -- a tentacle or something of the sort, and the Mist Monster had a grip around his left arm. With a jolt, it lifted Amarant clear off the ground and slammed him into the half- demolished wall of the steeple.  
  
It was a mist monster. A typical, insect-like thing with a crystal in the place of it's face. Right now, that crystal was beaming of red energry, evidently readying for a Firaga attack. Suddenly, Amarant had a feeling he'd had enough of heat and flames for one day.  
  
Just as the blaze of fire flew in his direction, Amarant rolled painfully to one side, and leapt to his feet. He'd only ran three feet, when the entire wall of the tower was engulfed in the blast of Firaga magic. But, the magic being simply magic, it dissolved in a moment, leaving the wall unscathed. After all, magic was designed to hurt human beings, or creatures, not stone.  
  
Amarant heard the monster's roar of annoyance all too loudly. As soon as the critter was done screaming in fury, it charged him, tentacles lashing about rapidly.  
  
Amarant smirked to himself and drew his fist back, ready for his next attack. This monster wanted to fight unfairly? Firaga barely gave him a scar, anyway, had it struck him. He knew the creature would be very, very sorry it challenged him with magic.  
  
Just one yard away, the mist monster stopped, all six of it's tentacles began to snap and become rigid with electricity. Amarant snorted. Thundaga? This monster was crazier than Zidane, even. It's sudden change of mind was going to be it's curse of death, for in that little second before the monster unleashed it's attack, Amarant unleashed his own.  
  
At first he'd considered using Curse. But that meant he'd have to kill the mist monster even more slowly, with his own hands, and he certainly couldn't afford to waste any more time. So instead, he used the next best thing.  
  
Death. Not Countdown. Death.  
  
Well, it was a good form of magic, wasn't it? Originally created from evil itself, he pretty much only used Death against the evilest of monsters, no matter what Zidane told him to do. He lived in a world that he didn't care about, and he didn't care about this one mist monster that had the intentions of killing him. Monsters picked fights with him, not the other way around.  
  
Amarant felt the familiar energy travel straight down his arm and to his very fingertips. First, he swung his arms back, just to control the incredible amount of power, and then thrust his arm forward to throw the invisible flow of magic at the creature. Two seconds of tranquility followed, and then the first sparks of red mist began to encircle the monster.  
  
It dropped it's Thundaga attack almost instantly, twisting it's head about in confusion.  
  
The red fog began to grow thick, and lowered itself to the ground, a tall and silky form rising from it's depths. The Death Eidolon, most hated of all and used only by anyone with Amarant's class of magic, Flair, took shape. Silently, it raised it's ghostly blade in the red glow of the smoldering alley. Then the blade descended on the monster, and the blade, deadly but not solid, travelled through the monster's body. It wasn't a bloody attack, like normal weapons seemed to make, for the Eidolon of Death wasn't a solid figure, and neither was his blade. But the effect was instantanious.  
  
All traces of the deadly mist monster's previous magic had disappeared, and now it was writhing about -- not in pain, but in insanity. It's tentacles whipped about wildly for a second, and Amarant leapt back to evade them. Just as the monster collapsed in a heap, a low rumble began to rise in volume, until it deafened out even the mist monster's death squeal.  
  
But Amarant was no longer paying any attention to the mist monster. He'd dealt with it himself, alone, something not everybody could brag about. The monster was no longer a concern. Amarant's head was tilted back, and he was staring at something in the sky. Something that couldn't possibly be there.  
  
Bahaumut was directly above him.  
  
But he was destroyed! The insane beast had been killed by Alexander's power, and everyone had seen it with their own eyes. But still, unmistakibly through the smoke and clouds of derbis, Amarant saw the King of Dragons hovering just above him. However horribly scarred and torn apart the beast appeared, the look of rage in his eyes told the whole story. Alexander hadn't killed Bahaumut just yet. He was there, gazing with glowing eyes.  
  
Bahaumut was staring at Amarant  
  
In some way, the Eidolon, the beast that was supposed to be dead, was observing him. Why? It had stopped destroying everything in a second, been unmistakably blown up in the sky, yet was now hovering above to glare at him. It was Bahaumut, the King of Dragons, back from the dead, and it was looking at him?  
  
He'd done nothing out of the ordinary. He'd merely used another Eidolon, and the one of Death, too. In fact, Death was barely considered an Eidolon anymore. If that wasn't the reason the King of Dragons was above him, suddenly alive again, flapping his gigantic wings in an angry rhythm. . .what was?  
  
Very slowly, Amarant began to advance backwards, head still tilted towards the sky. And slower still, Bahaumut took his deadly gaze off of him. With another pump of his torn wings, the beast rose further into the sky and roared with all his fury. A magnificent, but terrfying thing for the citizens of Alexandria, for in the next minute, chaos broke out again for just one more horrifying second.  
  
Bahaumut did another flap into the sky, and suddenly swerved sharply so that he faced the ground. Wings unfolded to his greatest extent, the dragon swooped and then dived straight towards the city below. And Amarant stood where he was, eyes unwaveringly on the dragon's form. But now, instead of his gaze fixed on the dragon's face or eyes, it was on the beast's open mouth, and the flames that were forming inside.  
  
The next thing that happened would have looked like a small explosion from above, but from Amarant's point of view, it was a whole lot more serious than that. Apparently, the Eidolon didn't judge Amarant as that much of a threat, for the ball of hot flames that leapt from it's throat did not seem all that threatening. To anyone else, that is. But there was just one small problem.  
  
Bahaumut was aiming for Amarant.  
  
Amarant didn't know what happened next. He really couldn't figure just what happened to the heat and flames that was supposed to come next. All he remembered was lifting his arms to instinctively shield his face. After that, the whole world around him exploded like nothing he'd ever experienced before.  
  
The last thing he actually saw before the flames hit him was the King of Dragons screech as his battered wings failed him. Yes, the dragon screeched, and then stuck the dock protruding into the water with a sickening crash. The vast body of the dragon bounced once, and then slowly tumbled into the lake itself, and lay still. Suddenly, it was simply gone, like a defeated beast should be. He disappeared.  
  
And then Amarant was facing the castle. He was facing Alexander's great wings, doomed, blackened and dead, folded over the castle. He was facing. . .an eye. A red eye surrounded by the glowing clouds of destruction. An eye that began to pulse with unimagined energy, before that small streak of blue light hit the top of the castle's peak and began to grow.  
  
He never saw the actual explosion. All he knew, was that he was standing in the middle of walls upon walls of flame and ruined cobblestone, though none of the heat or pain reach him. The spot he stood on was clear and bright, amidst the exploded alley.  
  
It was then he did two things. Had he not done the first thing, he would have thought himself dead, and stayed where he was. But he did not, for he impulsively lifted his arms to look at them.  
  
And found they were aglow.  
  
He was in Trance.  
  
No, he wasn't.  
  
But he had to be, there was no other explanation.  
  
He was. . .in Trance, but a Trance he'd never experienced before. Ever. If he were in normal Trance, he would still be dead. Yet, he had that uncontrollable surge of anger and power that one feels while in Trance, and still stood where he should not be standing anymore.  
  
Pondering it would have meant death, surely. And so, the next thing he did was rational. He leapt from the flames and landed on the half-decent stone of the alley in front of him. Immediatly, as he passed out of the destroyed bit of the city, the anger, the power left his body. It simply vanished, and he was still running towards the water.  
  
The water was his goal, but again, his goal couldn't be reached. For as I said, he never saw the explosion. He merely felt the force of the first wave radiated from the center of the city, hit his back. There was about a millisecond of peace, and the weightlessness of flying through the air told him he was no longer running. Amarant practically flew when he felt the heat, and the pressure of the next explosion behind him. The tower, the houses, the entire half-destroyed alley all disappeared in an envelope of flames.  
  
There was the heat, a surge of pure anger and pain, and then nothing. 


	2. Aftermath

Disclaimer: NO, I don't own Amarant, Eiko Vivi, or Quina, or Beatrix, or Freya, or Steiner, or Gaia, or Alexandria, or. . . You get the picture. Square owns 'em. Hehe.  
  
(What HAPPENED to Amarant? Well I sure as heck am not going to tell you, so you're gonna have to READ! Heehee.)  
  
Eiko began to shiver. She didn't know why -- she couldn't remember what had happened. All she could recall was a giant dragon. . .Bahaumut, and the castle being blown to smithereens. She couldn't even think straight anymore. Her back was against something cold. . .probably stone. She was alive. . .Stupid Eidolon, she thought sourly. And then she immediatly thought of. . .  
  
Mog! Was she all right?  
  
Very slowly, she lifted her head and pulled her legs beneath her to stand up. Suddenly, she almost rolled right over a cliff! No, no. . .her pounding heart slowed down after a few seconds. Not a cliff. . .she was on. . a bed?  
  
Rubbing her sore horn, she sat up in her sheets, looking left, and then right. She was in a very dressy room, with a mirror, and curtains around the bed. It was a beautiful bedroom, compared to what she usually slept in. But. . .  
  
"Eiko? Eiko Carol?"  
  
Eiko blinked and turned right around in bed to see a very pretty, but tough-looking woman sitting in an old-fashioned chair beside a grand window. Her face broke into a kind smile when she saw Eiko awake, "Eiko, how are you feeling?"  
  
"Wh. . .Wha?" the six-year-old inquired, her mouth hanging open, "Are you. . .G-General Bea. . Beatrix? I. . .Is this your bedroom?"  
  
Silently, Beatrix shook her head, and then said, "Yes, I am Beatrix. I believe. . .this is the first time we have met. And no, this is Queen Garnet's bedroom. . .one of the few rooms that wasn't damaged. You were out cold for hours."  
  
"Then. . . " Eiko sniffled. "Then it really. . .happened?  
  
This time, the general nodded, "Dagger, Zidane and yourself all were knocked unconscious when the explosion happened. The rest of us were rescued by Regent Cid and a strange, stolen boat from a nearby harbour."  
  
Eiko wiped her nose with her sleeve, "Where's. . .Where's Dagger? And Zidane, then?"  
  
Beatrix sighed, "Still unconscious, I'm afraid. Neither will wake up, and the regent is preparing for us all to depart for Lindblum shortly, where it's safe."  
  
"So. . ." Eiko looked from the window, which displayed a clear sky now, to the lady general again, "Vivi, Quina. . .Steiner, Freya. . .and, and Amarant? They're all OK? I mean, no one's. . .no one's. . ." She gulped.  
  
Eiko had been expecting Beatrix to smile again, but instead, her face grew solemn. The girl's heart sunk into her stomach. The lady general cast her eyes down, "Steiner. . .Quina, Freya, Vivi. . .they're all OK. They are in town. . .but. . .but I am afraid that man named Amarant is missing."  
  
Eiko leapt out of bed in shock, "Amarant? Really? He's missing? You're sure?"  
  
Beatrix nodded again, sadly, "He hasn't shown up."  
  
Eiko began to chew her bottom lip nervously, "Ah. . .eh, well, I mean, he. . .he could have just, you know, left - - right? I-I mean, he never liked Zidane much, and maybe. . .maybe he just got fed up and left after. . .you know, he escaped?"  
  
Beatrix looked back up at the six-year-old and silently thought to herself. She was fighting her insticts as a women, and her training. She was a knight, and a general, and it was her duty to tell the truth. She had to tell her that that possibility of Amarant being alive wasn't very likely, but she couldn't find herself crushing that spark of hope in the girl's eyes. Instead, she swallowed and forced a smile, "I suppose he could have. I do not know him as I suppose I do not know you."  
  
Eiko closed her eyes for a second, and sat down on the edge of the bed again. Sombrely, but curiously, she said, "Mog?"  
  
Cautiously, the moogle peered out of her place and shuddered, "Kupo. . ." she sighed.  
  
Eiko looked back up at Beatrix and wiped her nose again, "But. . .Amarant would never let himself get killed. . So he probably left. . but. . .but. . . .Where could he be?"  
  
Beatirx felt the girl's sadness touch her heart. "Eiko. . .you're only six years old. But you still fight. . .Tell me why."  
  
The question surprised Eiko. She opened her mouth to reply almost instantaneously, but a second glance at the general's face made her close it. Then she thought again, before replying. "I guess. . ." she said slowly, "I was going to say it was for my grandpa, and the people of Madain Sari. . .but. . ."  
  
Beatrix watched her rub her nose for yet a third time.  
  
"But. . " Eiko continued, ". . .I guess It's because I know how to fight. . .and because I want to be with Zidane, and Dagger, and Vivi, and Freya. . .and even Amarant, I guess. If. . .well. . .without any of them, I'd have to go back to Madain Sari, and I don't wanna. . .It's because, well, I don't want to be alone."  
  
Beatrix nodded, "Of course, and neither does anyone. But. . .think of what Amarant must feel. Instead of not wanting to be alone, he feels completely different.the opposite. So if he did leave, then you should understand."  
  
"But why does he want to be alone?" Eiko cried suddenly, "He just doesn't know how it feels! He thinks that being alone is fun? I know how it feels, and sooner or later, he's not gonna wanna be alone anymore. . "  
  
For a long time, Beatrix didn't say anything. A few minures passed as he gazed out of the bedroom window, at the ruined city she'd tried so hard to protect. No matter the amount of her effort, things got destroyed anyway. Alexandria was her home, and she'd served the royal family for a long time. . .Nothing like this had ever happened before. With Queen Brahne ruling. . .there hadn't been the threat of Alexandria meeting such a fate. . .now. . .  
  
Finally, the general returned her attention to Eiko, "I do not know, Eiko. Anything could have happened to him . .Who knows, maybe he's actually on his way back here after all. He could have been sidetracked. Or maybe he is hurt, and needs help."  
  
Eiko gritted her teeth and nodded her head stiffly, "Yeah. . " she said sourly. "Maybe."  
  
Beatrix stood up, "Perhaps, Eiko-"  
  
"No!"  
  
The general backed away hastily at Eiko's outburst. The girl suddenly jumped off the bed and crossed her arms defiantly, "No! He's a big idiot, but I know that he wouldn't get himself killed! And he may be a big meany, but he wouldn't just leave like that, anyway! He said that before, and he never left! He's not gone! I'm. . ." she swallowed quickly, "I'm going to find him!"  
  
Beatrix stood speechless as she observed Eiko hop from her spot and charge out of the room. At the same time, an exceptionally loud clank of metal echoed throughout the hall on the other side of the door. Then Steiner appeared at the door, looking rather startled, and confused. He looked to his left, apparently at the retreating Eiko, and then back at Beatrix.  
  
The general strode forward and brushed past Steiner haughtily, "Don't bother asking, Steiner."  
  
The Captain stood with mouth agape as he watched both Eiko and Beatrix disappear from his sight. He jerked his head to the left again, and studied the princess's room, before finally closing his jaw, "B-Beatrix?"  
  
  
  
Eiko had reached the boat outside of the castle and had already boarded when Beatrix appeared at the castle's entrance, "Eiko, wait!" she called.  
  
The boatman saw his general trotting towards him, and immediatly stopped the boat, holding it steady on top of the water, "Good day, General Beatrix," he greeted.  
  
Ignoring the guardsman, Beatrix looked frantically from the castle to Eiko, "Eiko, it's very dangerous in town right now, and you should really stay here. Not all of the monsters have been removed from the area yet."  
  
But Eiko crossed her arms stubbornly, "No way!" she objected, "Amarant saved my life once, and I don't care if he didn't mean to. I'm going to save his this time! He might be hurt, just like you said!"  
  
Beatrix thought quickly, "I realize I said that, but do not forget what you said, Eiko. He can take care of himself. He won't let himself get killed, remember?"  
  
Eiko shook her head, "Don't talk to me like I'm a kid! I'm not a kid! Amarant won't let himself get killed, but what if he can't help it, huh? What if he's really, really, really hurt?"  
  
The boatman cleared his throat apologetically, and said, "Excuse me General Beatrix, but you must understand that there are others waiting to cross the channel."  
  
Beatrix glanced back at the castle, and then at Eiko again with a defeated look, "Very well, Eiko. It's clear I cannot stop you. But promise me that if you're in trouble, you run, understand?"  
  
This time, Eiko nodded in agreement, "Thank you Mrs. Beatrix."  
  
"You're welcome," the general said with a sad smile, "And call me Beatrix, please."  
  
Taking this as a word of permission, the boatman pushed off with his steering pole, and began to guide the boat towards town. Eiko watched until Beatrix's form disappear into the castle again, and then sighed. Leaning over the edge of the boat, she studied the water. She could see the bottom. It was littered with derbis from the Eidolon's attack.  
  
Suddenly, to her surprise, she found that there were tears rolling down her cheeks and falling into the water, leaving petit ripples. What? What did she have to cry about?  
  
Why was she even asking herself that? She already knew. It was because of a lot of things. Because of all the people she knew had died because of Bahaumut. Because Bahaumut, a powerful and great Eidolon of the Summoner's tribe had been used for something so evil. Because Zidane wasn't there, and neither was anyone else she knew. . .because Amarant might be dead.  
  
She knew that she shouldn't care, after all. She knew that no one else would probably even notice that Amarant hadn't shown up. They'd be glad to be rid of him, in fact. So there was no point in asking any of them to help her find him. But maybe she was wasting her time? Perhaps. . .perhaps she should just go back? Would Dagger do something like that?  
  
Would Zidane?  
  
No, she told herself firmly. Zidane would never give up looking for anyone, at any time, even if it was Amarant. He went looking for him as Ispen's Castle, didn't he? When they all could have simply left him there, he cared that Amarant could have been hurt. Now, Eiko decided with a determined frown, it was her duty to help him!  
  
With a gentle bump, and a slight rock of the boat, it stopped on the other side of the channel. Immediaetly, the violet-haired girl leapt from her seat and charged off into town without so much as a thank you for the boatman. He, however, greeted his next passengers with a bow and began work all over again.  
  
Her spirits permanantly lifted, Eiko scrambled around the corner and entered the battered, and ruined town square.  
  
And nearly got trampled by Quina.  
  
Quina jumped back in surprise at the same time as the girl, "Eiko!?!"  
  
The girl picked herself up off of the dusty street and shook her head, "Ow, Quina! Where are you going, running like that?"  
  
Quina stared innocently, "Was going to ask same for you."  
  
But Eiko sighed and crossed her arms, "No, really, where is everyone?"  
  
"I no smell them now," Quina admitted, "And I has found everyone but Amarant. Is looking for him now."  
  
The six-year-old blinked in surprise, "What? You're looking for him, too?"  
  
Again, Quina continued to stare, innocently, "Is nothing to eat anymore."  
  
Eiko jumped up and down impatiently, "I can see that, Quina, but why are you looking for Amarant??"  
  
S/he considered this for a moment "Is what Zidane would do, is not?" s/he asked, finally.  
  
Eiko broke into a wide grin and cheered happily, "Yeah! My thoughts exactly! Let's go!"  
  
And Quina simply watched Eiko run across the square with what s/he supposed was a puzzled look. Then s/he sighed, and ran after the girl, "No food. No Amarant. No fun today."  
  
The first place they tried to search was the alley with the theatre. But as soon as they reached the narrow lane, they found to both of their disappointment that a pile of broken cobblestone and house walls was blocking their path. Before Eiko could even utter so much as a word, Quina had turned around and quickly retraced his/her steps. Eiko had no choice but to follow.  
  
Both Eiko and Quina now headed down the main street of Alexandria. They passed the synthenis shop, and then the tavern -- which no longer had a roof. However they searched, there was no sign of a tall, greenish- skinned, red-haired assasin. About fiteen minutes had passed when they encountered Vivi.  
  
The tiny black mage was pacing along the wreckage of a house near the entrance to the great city, pausing every once and a while to peer up at the demolished walls and windows. Then he turned around when he saw the twosome approach. His expression didn't change.  
  
"Hi, Vivi!" Eiko greeted him, as cheerfully as she could muster, "What are you doing here?"  
  
Vivi looked at the ground for a moment, straightened his hat, and the glanced back towards Eiko, "H-hello, Eiko. . .Quina. . .The grandmother of a little girl I know lives here. . .I wonder if she's OK," he said tonelessly.  
  
"Oh..." Eiko cleared her throat before continuing, "Well. . .Is she?"  
  
The mage blinked slowly, and shook his head, "I don't know."  
  
"Oh.. ." The girl repeated, "I guess you don't have time to help us find Amarant, then? I mean, if he's still here. . ."  
  
Again, the black mage shook his head, "Sorry. . " he mumbled, and stared at the ground.  
  
"Oh...Well, 'k then. . .bye." Eiko concluded and both she and Quina sombred awat, towards the town square again.  
  
Just as they were passing the tavern again, Quina stopped and sniffed the air. Eiko looked both defeated and annoyed at the same time, "Oh, no Quina. . .Please, not again. We have to find Amarant, remember?"  
  
Quina however, said nothing, and remained motionless.  
  
Eiko, who had begun to walk again, paused, "Quina?"  
  
"Is not food I smell," Quina explained. ". . .Is something terrible. Is. . .is. . .not anything I smell before."  
  
"Then why whould it concern us? I mean, Quina, if you dond't know what it is, and it's not food, why would you care?" Eiko pressed impatiently and tugged on his/her arm, "Let's go! Amarant might need us!"  
  
But Quina shoke his/her head and sniffed the air again, "Smell is horrible. Not good smell. Is like smell of fear but not."  
  
"Maybe it's just your imagination, Quina!" Eiko insisted and tugged on his/her arm again, "C'mon!"  
  
Finally, Quina seemed to snap out fo it and looked quietly at Eiko. Then, surprisingly without a word, s/he plodded forward again, heading straight for the middle of town. Pausing for only a second to look from the tavern, to Quina's retreating form, Eiko leapt into action and sped after him/her.  
  
"Q-Quina?" she asked slowly, "Uh. . .so, where do we look next?"  
  
Quina looked at Eiko and shook his/her head, "I not know. Maybe Amarant is in castle?"  
  
Eiko sighed and looked down at her shoes, "No. . ." she said sadly, "He would've run farther than that. He might be long gone, or. . ."  
  
"Good morning, Eiko, Quina."  
  
Both turned around to see none other than Freya striding towards them. Eiko instantly realized that the Dragon Knight wasn't walking normally. She definitely had a limp in her left leg, but she appeared to be attempting to hide it. As usual on such sad occasions, Freya was not smiling.  
  
"Hullo, Freya. You're OK?" Eiko said.  
  
The Burmecian was completely silent until she reached the pair and then glanced very shortly at her injured leg, "More or less," she confirmed, "Tell me, why are you two out here? If there is no reason, then you are merely getting in the workers way. Perhaps you should return to the castle."  
  
Eiko was startled at the unusual coldness of Freya's voice, and didn't reply right away. At first, she'd figured the Burmecian was merely joking, but her morose stare and the meaningful posture she held, told the six-year-old otherwise.  
  
Quina leapt up and down twice, "We looking for Amarant."  
  
Freya's placid stare was directed at him/her, "Amarant?"  
  
"Yep!" Eiko quipped, feeling no where as happy as she knew she was making herself sound. If Freya was fooled, then she did not show it.  
  
"Very well, good luck to both of you," she said, and then, without another glance or word to either of them, she continued to walk past them and headed for the castle.  
  
"Hey!" the girl called after her, "Aren't you going to help us?"  
  
Freya stopped and turned her head to say simply, "I have something to attend."  
  
And she was gone.  
  
Eiko was about to open her mouth to protest openly, but Quina suddenly cut her off. Actaully, it was not Quina him/herself that interrupted the six-year-old, but his/her stomach. It rumbled loudly, and Quina looked down, up, to the side, and then at Eiko.  
  
The girl hung her head, "Oh, all right. . ." she sighed, "Go on."  
  
And Quina was gone.  
  
Now all Eiko knew, was that she had next to none if not no chance at all of finding Amarant. Even if he was. . .she gulped. . .alive. And if he was, and if he didn't even need her help, she'd never know anyway. Why did she even bother? What was the reason for her looking for him in the first place?  
  
Zidane! she reminded herself firmly, I have to do what Zidane would do!  
  
But her sudden burst of confidence didn't really add up to her realization that she hadn't a clue what to do next. Where to search?  
  
Then, as if on cue, and not really thinking about it at all, Eiko spotted Vivi running through the thin crowd. He was headed for the alleyway he'd been down when he first met Puck -- the alley that was almost impassible. But the black mage didn't look at all discouraged about it. He disappeared in the shadows.  
  
Feeling a surge of excitement, Eiko cried after him, "Vivi, wait for me!" and then scrambled her way across the sqaure, running into almost every worker and civilian on her way. By the time she reached the alley, Vivi had already scaled the scary-looking heap of derbis. Not bothering to ponder about Vivi's supposed fear of heights, she approached the rubble.  
  
It came so sudden, she didn't even have time to utter anything but a mere gasp. Although she could recall it happening before, it surprised her that something like this could happen in a demoished alleyway. Her horn began to sting viciously, and a voice rose in her ears, whispering something to her. It was too faint to hear, but Eiko already knew what it must be. It was an Eidolon.  
  
The six-year-old fell backwards and landed with her hands bracing for support. And still, her horn throbbed angrily, as the Eidolon's voice grew steadily clearer.  
  
"I trust you can hear me now."  
  
"I am very close."  
  
"Come, little Summoner. We must. . .discuss something."  
  
When the voice and the pain had eventually left her alone, Eiko waveringly got back to her feet, rubbing her sore horn, "Owww. . ." she complained. Then she begun to think. . ."That. . .that wasn't Bahaumut. No. . .but then. . .who?"  
  
"Let me show you. Let me tell you."  
  
Well, it came without the pain, or the slowly ascending, whispery voice. But it certainly came to her. It caused her to fall on her face, and not even notice the cool sensation radiateng from her horn. She wasn't awake. She was. . .watching.  
  
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~  
  
"I can't remember how many years I've been waiting for a day when Bahaumut was finally destroyed. The Council decided that I was simply too powerful to be put in any mere Summoner's hands. The Summoners, your people, little one, were as bad as the humans once. When. . .when the power of Eidolons was just born.  
  
"Ultima told us all, even us advanced Eidolons that we could serve any Summoner we wished. We could serve as many as we wished. But only the Eidolons whom he knew were spoiled -- whom he knew that were going to wreak havac, were allowed to leave the Council.  
  
"Four others and myself were left behind, in the Zero world. Zero was filled with nothing, and I had no desire to ineract with any of the others.  
  
"Alexander was one of these all-powerful Eidolons that had to remain behind. But once a human had cracked his riddles and solved his rhymes of the Alexandrian Temple, he was set free into Gaia, and the temple crumbled.  
  
"All the was left was the others and myself. I am now the second to leave my home in the Zero world. I am here to take Bahaumut's place once he was destroyed. Truly, he is not gone, for the Queen that governs over Alexander now controls his powers, as she should have so long ago. The fact remains, however, that his pride and power has been quenced greatly. Now I have broken free.  
  
"There is Alexander, Oenan, whom is Odin's father, and myself. There is also, of course, Necron. It seems however, this Eidolon of Death and Destruction has been humiliated. He will no longer have the power to rise to high in his place again.  
  
"The last of my all-powerful 'friends' is Tepala, but she is gone. She has vanished, stolen straight from this unpenetrateble world. Wherever she may be, or for what use she could possibly be put to, is unknown to us.  
  
"The night in your world, the time in which Bahaumut was defeated by my brother Alexander, was the night Ultima summoned me. He told me of my fate, and I accept it.  
  
"But little Summoner, I speak to only you now, because you are the last true one of your kind. I can no longer speak openly to the Queen, and so now I speak to you. Your restraints are broken. You can freely do what you want with your power, little Summoner. Use it, for whatever you wish.  
  
"As I can.  
  
"Evil. Good. I don't know, nor do I care about the difference. Evil? That is the way my presuccessor had been used. Used....by some evil power that breaks all bounds on summoning laws. This is not how I want to die, little Summoner. If I can help, then I can. If I cannot, then I can only destroy. I am the father of Bahaumut. My name is his name, yet one difference, little last-of-you-kind.  
  
"I live in my world of nothingness. . .  
  
"I am Zero.  
  
"Watch."  
  
Everything was black for a while. She was in a room of pitch darkness.  
  
She caught a glimpse of something. . .something white, or grey move behind the shadows. Eiko tried to squint her eyes, but found that she had none. She was still inside of this fantasy world...this nothingness.  
  
"Look harder, little Summoner."  
  
Eiko didn't want to listen to the voice. But her conscience screamed at her to obey, so she focussed as hard as she could to penetrate the swallowing darkness.  
  
"I am Zero. I am nothing yet. . .but I await my birth as I should my death when I live."  
  
What Eiko expercienced next was very brief. Before the real darkness of unconsciousness set in, she saw. . .she saw an elegant body of a dragon. Bahaumut? What was Bahaumut doing here, in her dreams? No, wait. . .Bahaumut was not a white dragon. This 'Zero' dragon had strange wings, and a handsomer face.  
  
Handsome?  
  
He was beautiful, yet ugly. He was angry, but kind. He was. . . so empty, but so full of spirit.  
  
So this was. . .Zero.  
  
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~  
  
Eiko felt as if she were stuck in the eye of a tornado. Everything about her swirled, and was being pulled apart, welded together, and merged with a liquid-like flow. Without knowing it, she observed this phenomon as Time. Or perhaps it was just the after-affects of feinting. Or perhaps. . .it was another world she'd never seen.  
  
It didn't matter. The next thing she knew, she was sitting up in the middle of the alley with a very sore forehead. She'd passed out and dreamed. . . .No, it couldn't have been a dream. No Eidolon contacts a Summoner with a dream. An Eidolon speaks truly, as well. They have no power to lie.  
  
She wanted to know who Zero was. . .She wanted to know what kind of Eidolon could cause a Summoner --even one as young as herself-- to feint. To be rendered. . .unconscious. Bahaumut. . .the same name? Zero. . .Zero Bahaumut.  
  
The girl couldn't help but surpess a smile as she picked herself up. No Eidolon she'd ever heard of had the name Zero Bahaumut. Bahaumut was the King of Dragons, and one of the most powerful Eidolons ever known to human and Summoner alike. No Qu, or no creature alive had seen anything more powerful than Alexander.  
  
So she must have dreamed it, then. She simply must have been thinking of too much at the same time. Wait. . .what had she been thinking about? What was she trying to do?  
  
Suddenly, her memory flashed inside of her head. Vivi!  
  
Not wasting another precious moment, she scrambled back to her senses and practially leapt on the giant pile of wreckage. After climbing over pieces and pieces of conrete and stone, she finally made it to the top of the heap. What she saw beyond the ruined wall, however, made her jaw drop in disbeleif.  
  
It was true, that almost every building still stood. But it was also apparent that there was no longer a full wall or a grey stone to be seen. Nearly everything was charred black, or thrown in a heap. But the cobblestone beneath her feet, and so much of the wreckage was. . .soot. Ashes.  
  
Blinking stupidly, Eiko twisted to her left, and then right, "V- Vivi?" she stammered.  
  
At first, there was no answer. But then, from behind another -but smaller- pile of derbis, came Vivi's unmistakable voice, "Over here. . ."  
  
Eiko slowly, made her way around the rubble and spotted Vivi, standing in front of a rather doomed house. It's porch was blackened beyond recognition and the house was hollow and vacant insdie. But the black mage looked at it insistantly, as if he still expected someone to come through the scortched door.  
  
"Vivi..." Eiko said sympathetically, and advanced on him.  
  
Vivi looked up, and the six-year-old noticed that his eyes didn't glow just the right way, as they always seemed to do. They kind of shone sadly, reflecting his exact mood. "Eiko. . ." he said. "This is where that little. . .that little girl I was talking about lived. I don't know. . .if she's OK. . ."  
  
Eiko blinked, uncertain what to say. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she sighed, "Vivi, most of the townspeople fled. She's probably just somewhere else in town, right? I bet she's at the castle. . .That's where most of the women and kids are!"  
  
She hadn't really expected this to cheer Vivi up, but it did get her out of an awkward position. She really hated to see the older boy's long face and drooped shoulders. If only she could make him feel better somehow. . .If only he'd look on the brighter side!  
  
"First. . .the black mages. . .Then P. . .Puck, and now this. . ." Vivi was muttering.  
  
"Vivi!" Eiko cried so suddenly, it made the little mage jump, "I'm ashamed of you! You don't even know if she's still alive or not, and you're giving up? If I were like that, then I wouldn't-"  
  
Her throat stuck.  
  
"Oh YEAHHH!" she exclaimed, "I forgot all about Amarant! I still gotta find him, Vivi! C'mon, I know he's mean and all, but can you at least help me look for him? Cause, well-"  
  
"Yeah. . ." Vivi interrupted softly, "Let's find him. . ."  
  
Well, Eiko both didn't know where to start. It seemed, for hundreds of meters all around, that there was nothing left of the street or dock but cinders and burnt walls. And there were simply too many piles of rubbish, and only one place that Amarant could possibly be.  
  
Eiko couldn't help but think, Amarant's an escape artist. And if he's escaped, then he's long gone. . .But. . .if that was true, then why did she have a strange feeling? Did it have anything to do with that weird dream at all? If so, why?  
  
Vivi seemed to be thinking the same thing, except for the part about the dream. All he could picture when he thought of Amarant, was a man with flame-red hair that was mroe than twice his height. When he thought of how he acted, the black mage had to shudder. His attitude was so. . .uncaring.  
  
And so they searched. They didn't exactly move anything around. . .they'd both agreed silently that it would be too awkward, lifting things about to look for someone. An hour passed of this. . .and then two. It was then that Vivi nearly got flattened by a sudden fall of a stone three times his size.  
  
It was the last straw for Eiko. All of her little-girl patience had worn out and now she was simply too stressed to continue, "Vivi," she said stalwartly, "If he's this hard to find, then he's obviously not here. . .You know, if he's gone, he's gone. . .If he's," she gulped, and faltered for only a moment, "well, if he's. . .you know. . .then that's that. . .He'd never do something like this for us, right? I mean. . "  
  
Vivi looked a little shocked, "But, Eiko-"  
  
His words were cut short by a sudden shower of gravel as a very intimadating-looking slab of broken wall began to break loose on top of a nearby pile. Slowly, both sets of eyes travelled upwards to stare at it, just before it snapped, and began to roll down the heap of stone.  
  
Vivi didn't think twice, he just acted. With a frightened yell, he threw himself into Eiko and they both went sprawling onto the charred ground. The sliding chunk of rock flew right past them, missing by inches, and crashed into a nearby building. It did a half-flip and landed with a solid thunk.  
  
Eiko was trembling with both disbelief and anger, as she stood up, staring at the stones that had just tried to kill them both. Her fists clenched, "OK, that's it! It's official! We are SO outta here, NOW, Vivi!"  
  
Not bothering to even thank him, the six-year-old seized Vivi's arm and started to drag him hastily towards the end of the alley again. It was that moment that both froze in terror. A low creak, and the terrible sound of bursting rock sounded behind their backs.  
  
There was no hesitation this time. Both children whirled around to face the deadly heap of cobblestone. True, it was breaking and beginning to collapse. And that was not all, unfourtunately. For if Eiko hadn't of glanced down at the base of the stones, then she would have fled as fast as her feet could carry her.  
  
She heard the black mage gulp with fear beside her, and turn to run again. But Eiko grabbed a handful of his coat and pulled him back, "No. . ." she managed to whisper over the groaning and threatening noises of the rubble pile, "Look, Vivi. . .at the bottom of the pile."  
  
And she felt him stiffen, too, when he saw what she saw.  
  
It was all too conspicuous. For under all of the gravel, and grit, and boulders. . .through at least one or two layers of rocks themselves, was a great mass of red hair. Slowly, ever slowly, the two children leaned to the side to peer more closesly. And yes, hidden by that hair was the grim face of Amarant.  
  
He was crushed.  
  
But alive.  
  
He was bleeding exceedingly, at least, as much as they could see. From his stomach down, rocks of all shapes and sizes had pinned him down. But his arms were in front of him, he was on his side, and his head rest on a flat, overturned cobblestone. Just above him, was what had apparently saved him from being entirely crushed. Another stone, similar to the one he rest on, had one end propped on a rather smaller boulder, but the other end was pinning him to the ground. He was either unconscious, or very weak. Eiko couldn't see his eyes. . .she coudln't tell.  
  
But he was alive.  
  
A sudden impulse and emotion of pity and relief overwhelmed her. Immedialtly, that feeling was swallowed by confusion, and fear. Amarant alive. . .but. . .  
  
Something wooden splintered near the top of the pile, and more pebbles rained down on the two children.  
  
. . .Not for long.  
  
  
  
(Ah, what can I say. I love Zero Bahaumut and Neo Bahaumut from Final Fantasy VII. They are SO cool! And they don't even exist in Final Fantasy VIII or IX (dunno about X)! That's just wrong, right? Eheh, he, heeeee....Anyway, yes, Amarant is alive. But also, yes, he is trapped. Yes, he is very wounded, and no, he's not going to like Eiko's help, is he? Or WILL he? *suspenseful music* Ah, well, you can all guess why I'm throwing Vivi into this *wink* Eiko and Vivi -- the perfect couple (for when they're old, of course) Who give's a dang (this is PG, remember) if Vivi's a black mage? Created? Pblhahh! So, until next time. . ) 


	3. Thoughts

Dicslaimer: No, no….I wish I did, But I don't own anything of the Final Fantasy series, including the characters from FF9.  
  
(This is now rated as PG-13. It has a little, itty bit of blood and a medium amount of moderate profanity. Well, now we're looking at the story from Amarant's POV, but only for a little while. It's kind touching and all, really. Well, here goes. . .)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I think I'm dead….  
  
Maybe I am, and I don't even know it.  
  
Then again, if I'm thinking right now, that means I'm alive.  
  
Stupid Eidolons, stupid silver-haired moron.  
  
Damn them all.  
  
I think I'm…..  
  
Lying against something hard.  
  
Probably some kind of rock, considering the position I'm in  
  
So cold….  
  
And painful….  
  
Even the heat of these embers against my cheek, aren't much help, These flames that are building their strength, ever so slowly.  
  
Damn alley. Who said that it could blow up like that?  
  
Am I going to die?  
  
Am I even alive right now?  
  
I have to be, unless these flames, and pain all mean…..  
  
Haha, oh well, it's where I deserve to go.  
  
What?  
  
Oh, another explosion.  
  
Funny, it's not over yet.  
  
Or maybe it is.  
  
Maybe I'm delusional.  
  
Damn theses thoughts.  
  
Wait a second, I think. . .  
  
I can see now.  
  
A little.  
  
The sky is….blue?  
  
What the hell???  
  
So now it's all fine, now everyone can start piecing things back together.  
  
Like ants, when their anthill is destroyed.  
  
I just don't care.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Damn.  
  
Still alive?  
  
Who would've thought….  
  
Here I am, thinking again. So pointless, so….strangely.  
  
Wait, that hurt.  
  
What the hell was that?  
  
Oh, a rock. Another damn rock fell on my shoulder. In fact, the entire pile seems to be shifting.  
  
Pile?  
  
Oh, so that's what I'm trapped under.  
  
Come to think of it, I can't even feel my legs.  
  
Goody.  
  
I'm going to be crushed by four tons of broken stones.  
  
Oh, happy day.  
  
If it's going to fall, then let it fall. Get it over with. Please.  
  
Then again, maybe I don't want to die.  
  
Maybe?  
  
Can't I even answer my own question?  
  
Do I want to die?  
  
No, no, I don't.  
  
That monkey-boy still owes me a rematch.  
  
Besides, all this thinking is beginning to amuse me.  
  
Haha, look at my life.  
  
Haha, I can see Zidane finding me, Dagger crying, them giving me a nice burial.  
  
Haha, see them all running headlong into a showdowm with that Kuja character.  
  
Haha, see them being blown to smithereens.  
  
Ha.  
  
Smithereens? Where the hell did that come from?  
  
What's going on here?  
  
Oh, look, I can see again.  
  
No more embers. It smells….dusty. Like a room full of sand.  
  
Why? Damn me if I knew.  
  
Maybe I should try to get out.  
  
Then again, if I can't feel my legs, that usually means they're broken, or I'm paralyzed.  
  
That would be a fat lot of help.  
  
Who's watching me? Who's going to see me die?  
  
I'm just going to lie here some more. If I can see the sky, the sky can see me.  
  
That's all I'm asking for.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
DAMN!  
  
Now that wasn't something I was hoping to wake up to.  
  
If feels like an entire ton's been lifted from my chest.  
  
So why did it hurt like that?  
  
Oh, the pile's moving again.  
  
How wonderful.  
  
Just a second, there's something else….  
  
Something other than just sky.  
  
And there's light now. Lots of it.  
  
Haha, I see.  
  
So if 'm dead, then that light means. . .  
  
No, I have no rights. Besides, who believe in crap like that?  
  
That sky…There's something there.  
  
It's a person?  
  
Great, a rescue team  
  
No, wait, there's two of them.  
  
……….  
  
Kind of small for a rescue team, isn't it?  
  
The first one….no, that's no person.  
  
What?  
  
It's some kind of angel or whatever  
  
All surrounded in light.  
  
But I've never seen an angel with purple hair.  
  
And a horn.  
  
Oh.  
  
Damn.  
  
No, no way. It can't be here. Please don't let it be even some kind of ghost of her. If it's HER, let me die right now. Please.  
  
She's still there.  
  
What's she doing? The pile's about to fall!  
  
Can feel it practically doing backflips just above me.  
  
So she wants to die, just like Zidane.  
  
We'll see about that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"………"  
  
Eiko blinked, and took another step forward.  
  
"……..You."  
  
I watched her, with some satisfaction, as she leapt back again. I carefully lifted my head, and attempted to brace myself with a bleeding arm. All around, I could hear things smoldering, I could smell the carred walls of the houses and street. I could feel the walls of those houses, and the cobblestone of those streets press into me from above. It was adding insult to injury in a way. I was here. I was helpless.  
  
I was angry.  
  
"A-Amarant?"  
  
Over the dull cracking and sounds of shifting rock above me, I heard the black mage's voice. So, he was here too.  
  
So very typical.  
  
"You're….both alive."  
  
That was all I could think of to say. I saw Eiko's face light up with that familiar, offensive expression.  
  
Great. Here we go.  
  
"You don' sound too HAPPY about that, Amarant!" she barked, putting her hands of her hips. I tried to ignore the threatening sounds of breaking stone, but….No noise that announces your pending death is that easy to ignore.  
  
"E-Eiko…" I heard Vivi stammer. Usual, panicky Vivi.  
  
"Amarant, you gotta get outta there!" Eiko cried, clearly ignoring the black mage's remark. "C'mon, get up, get up, get up! The whole thing's gonna fall!"  
  
I stared. It hit me, right there and then about how stupid this girl really was.  
  
"Do you have any idea what will happen if I try to move?"  
  
My question seemed to stump her. Instead of answering it, much to my annoyance, she moved even closer.  
  
"Move back," I growled.  
  
"You're hurt!" she snapped back. "At least let me help you!"  
  
I began to feel infuriated.  
  
She was getting on my nerves.  
  
Again.  
  
"It's not going to matter, brat," I growled again, very slightly shifting so that I could get a clearer view of what was above me. "It….It's falling. Get out of here. If you want to live, then go!"  
  
"No!" the brat yelled, jumping up and down. "Me an' Vivi aren't going to leave without you! Right, Vivi?"  
  
I shifted my placid stare towards the black mage. He didn't say anything, as one could expect. His eyes grew sort of dimmer, which surprised me I guess. I could actually see that he was on the brim of tears. Why? No one should have to cry over me. I kill for a living, and I don't give a damn about what happens to anyone else. They just want to stretch thigns, don't' they?  
  
I opened my mouth, and then closed it. I was speechless.  
  
"The…the pile will come crashing down. I…."  
  
What was I supposed to say? Why did I care if she got killed, too?  
  
She was innocent, maybe? I like things being fair. It's not fair that she dies just trying to save me. Me, of all people she could be looking for.  
  
And then there was Vivi. That kid wasn't as annoying, and I can't ever remember speaking to him directly. I don't know him, so he has even less of a reason to be here. Helping me.  
  
So I improvised. And I lied.  
  
"Leave," I demanded. "I'll live, and then you can help me. I won't complain. Just go."  
  
I lied, because I knew that once all the cobblestone fell, I'd be worse off than dead. I'd be pancaked between two boulders, or have some kind of stone spar shove through my back. I could feel one prodding my shoulder right now, just above me.  
  
I hate the girl. She could practically read minds.  
  
"Nuh uh," she said, adding defeat to the pile of feelings I was experiencing. "Nice try, but I'm not stupid! Are you going to cooperate now, or do we have to stand and talk about it some more?"  
  
Stand? Speak for yourself, you stupid twit  
  
I answered her, but it was drowned out. Even as more gravel fell from the peak of the rock pile, I could feel my spirit drop with it.  
  
I was going to die.  
  
But I couldn't let that be the reason the kids died, too.  
  
Surely they would run when the pile began to fall.  
  
The sharp, stone shard drove even further against my back, as I pushed myself to a kneeling position, using my half-broken arms. To my surprise, I felt a lot stronger that I could expect to be. The spar that should have impaled me, rolled to the side and out of harms way.  
  
It was too late to turn back. I could feel everything around me moving, like an eerie pile of living stone. Even as I began to crawl forward, unsure of why I was headed in that direction, I could hear the noise, and clatter of stone rock against wood, and wood splintering.  
  
And above the noise, I heard Eiko.  
  
"Amarant, NO!"  
  
……………………  
  
……………………  
  
…………..Sorry.  
  
With a final, and un-thought about heave, I practically threw the stones off of my back. Things began to rain down in all directions, and even as I remained motionless, waiting for that one rock to pound my head in, I began to think.  
  
This hurts, the rocks. Everything hurts right now. Sure, I can feel my legs again, and yes, the pain in my pack doesn't seem so serious. But….  
  
Let them live.  
  
Let them go and save the world, or whatever else they feel like doing.  
  
Just. . .  
  
Let them, please, do it without me.  
  
And Zidane. .  
  
I'll see you in another life, maybe.  
  
I still want that rematch.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The dust began to clear.  
  
Eiko found herself grasping Vivi's hand, and suddenly drew her hand away, breathing heavily with shock.  
  
He'd saved her. Vivi had pulled her back, when she wouldn't go.  
  
But she couldn't see right now. The pile of derbis was just a shape between dust clouds.  
  
And Amarant was gone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(Don't worry! The story aint over yet, people! It's not over until the fat lady sings! (literally, lol) Is Amarant alive? Not even I know! I still have to write my little ending to this thing. Don't worry, again, there will be more chapters. ^_^ Please R&R! If you like, please say, if you don't like it, please say. I'm soooo curious!) 


	4. A Hero's Glimmer

Disclaimer: No, I don't. You know what I'm talking about.  
  
(Oh, the joys of suspense! Read, mon ami, read! ^_^) (that's French by the way)  
  
************************  
  
Maybe...  
  
Maybe what I did was right….  
  
Maybe now that they're out of my mind, I can finally…  
  
Stop worrying.  
  
I hate kids. Damn, I hate them.  
  
I always knew, some day.…  
  
A kid would be my death….  
  
All to save them.  
  
All to….keep them alive?  
  
Kids need to grow up.  
  
They need to live on, and become adults some day.  
  
Lucky, damned kids. They know, they have a memory of their past…  
  
They remember their childhood.  
  
Maybe that's why I couldn't let them….get killed.  
  
Because I don't want to see their childhood end…  
  
When I can't even remember mine.  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
Vivi swore he saw tears brimming inside of Eiko's eyes. He wanted to say he was sorry. He wanted so much to take her away, because he knew….If they found Amarant, he would have…..stopped moving by now. Just the thought, even though it was Amarant they were talking about….It was too much to bear for him, or for Eiko.  
  
  
  
Vivi wanted to protest as the six-year-old suddenly left his side and leapt onto the top of a chunk of stone nearby. His mind sort of wavered, leaving him speechless. He sneezed, and dust went flying everywhere. Eiko turned around and wrinkled her nose.  
  
  
  
"Gazuteite," she said sadly, and then hopped down from the boulder. At once, an alarm rang inside of the black mage's head, but it was silenced when Eiko's head appeared above the rock. Her face was no longer grinning, which was something very unusual to see.  
  
  
  
"Eiko," the black mage began, straightening his hat nervously. "Th-that was close….Y-you really shouldn't stay h-here anymore…W-we should go back…what if it falls again?"  
  
  
  
To his surprise, Eiko buried her face in her hands, and turned her back on him, "If you wanna go," she said, in a muffled way. "Then you can go. But I'm staying. Besides," she continued, gesturing at the flattened pile of rubble. "It won't fall again."  
  
  
  
Something in her tone told Vivi that she wanted him to leave. And if horrified him to find out that he was actually glad to hear it. Slowly, the black mage faced the rubble pile that blocked the alleyway behind him, and then Eiko again.  
  
  
  
"Y-you won't be angry?" he said. Why did he have to feel so afraid?  
  
  
  
Eiko turned away again, and shrugged half-heartedly. "You can go if you want," she repeated.  
  
  
  
Again, Vivi hesitated. Then he faced the alley again, and began to leave. But he was stopped when Eiko's voice rang out behind him.  
  
  
  
"Vivi?"  
  
  
  
He turned around, tilting his head to look at her standing on the boulder again.  
  
  
  
Eiko seemed to force a smile, "Th-thank you for saving me."  
  
  
  
Wordless, Vivi stared up at the girl for a few more seconds. He wanted to reply. He'd never done something like that before – rescue someone. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say 'your welcome', or just walk away with a hero's glimmer in his eye.  
  
  
  
"And Vivi?"  
  
  
  
"…..Yes?"  
  
  
  
"If you….." Eiko swallowed, and then decided to use different words. "If you, um, see Quina, please tell him/her to help me. I don't think I can lift all the heavy rocks alone."  
  
  
  
This alarmed Vivi. "You're going t-to d-dig for him?!" he almost gasped.  
  
  
  
Eiko put her hands on her hips and shook her head, violet locks swaying back and forth, almost sadly, "Of course I am. There's nothing wrong with it, is there?"  
  
  
  
"Y…." Vivi began, and then stopped himself. "Um, well, what if he's...he's….?"  
  
  
  
The six-year-old summoner leapt off of the boulder again, on Vivi's side. "No, he's isn't! But even…even if he was, say, that he actually…well, I'll still be glad to find him!"  
  
  
  
Now Vivi was completely speechless. He'd saved her life, but he'd also tried to save Amarant's. He thought that giving up was the right thing to do! But….the feeling of not being able to help someone felt very wrong, and utterly scary. Eiko wasn't giving up, but even though he didn't feel like it, he knew he had to…to walk away.  
  
  
  
"W-well…" he stammered, and began to back away. "I-I'll see if I can find Quina, I guess…"  
  
  
  
With that, the black mage started for the large pile of derbis that clogged the alleyway. But he went very slowly, as if he couldn't decided anymore.  
  
  
  
It was true. His thoughts were dragging him back, but his senses were pulling him forward. He'd saved Eiko's life….that made him a hero, didn't it? Or maybe it made him….human?  
  
  
  
Ramuh  
  
  
  
Vivi remembered Ramuh's story suddenly. About that girl's father….being a hero, or a human. Of course, the man was a human, but what he did was strictly heroic or human. The black mage tried, but he couldn't remember what Dagger had chosen then. Vivi stopped walking, and hung his head for a second.  
  
  
  
Human? Hero? Did it matter? He wasn't even….human, he supposed. But what he did was human and heroic both. Did that make him something more? Or did it just mean that….that he…..  
  
  
  
He'd never done something so brave before. It made him feel better. Sure, once or twice, he'd given another party member a potion, or a soft in battle. He'd restored them from KO, and healed them again. But that was what you were supposed to do in battles….look out for one another  
  
  
  
Besides, giving someone a soft when they turned into stone was something you had to do, right? No one wants to be a statue forever. Unless someone carried the person for the rest of the-  
  
  
  
Vivi froze.  
  
  
  
A soft?  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
I think I hear voices….  
  
But that couldn't be.  
  
Before they find me…  
  
I'll be gone.  
  
I know I'll look something worse than death itself.  
  
They don't want to see that.  
  
I'm….  
  
I can't see anymore….  
  
They should just leave.  
  
I'm dying….  
  
Aren't I.  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
A soft!  
  
  
  
Softs…..softs eliminated stone, didn't they? Vivi racked his brain, trying to remember what his Grandpa Quale had taught him. When the stone was a petrified being…they….they turned normal when a soft was applied. But if you applied one to a stone….an original stone, it made it dissolve!  
  
  
  
Vivi, in his excitement, spun around and began to choke on his words. Finally, he managed to call, "E-Eiko!"  
  
  
  
The six-year-old lifted her head above the boulder again, a sad frown crossing her face, "I…I thought you'd left already."  
  
  
  
"A soft!" the black mage cried, running towards the violet-haired girl. "Eiko, use a soft!"  
  
  
  
Eiko blinked, and dropped the rock she was holding, "…..Er?"  
  
  
  
Vivi stopped running, and pulled himself up on the boulder she was standing behind. Carefully, he slid himself over the top of the rock, and landed softly beside her. There, he stopped to catch his breath. But he managed to breath, "Use…a soft…on the…rocks…."  
  
  
  
Eiko's eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh YEAHHH!" she cried, and took a leap back. "If I use a soft, then…..!!!"  
  
  
  
Vivi watched with hopeful eyes as the six-year-old took a small bottle from her pocket. The liquid inside was glowing a dark green, and then a lighter blue. Its constantly changing colors definitely made it a very unique matter. It was a soft.  
  
  
  
The violet-haired summoner hastily scrambled onto a rock in front of her, and began to climb the flattened pile of rubble. Vivi, first straightening his hat in anxiety, followed her, being careful as he scaled the slightly sloping mounds of cobblestone. He stopped where Eiko stopped. She was holding the bottle in front of her as if it were made of pure gold.  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
Why?  
  
I can hear both of them….  
  
They're above me.  
  
It's….too late.  
  
I'm already starting to feel cold.  
  
Maybe it's because I'm dying….  
  
Because I have wooden splinter driving through my back.  
  
I know that it's….pierced my lungs.  
  
I can hardly…breath.  
  
See? My….my thoughts are even beginning to fail.  
  
I…I expected this.  
  
Sorry, you two…  
  
Vivi, you shouldn't have to see someone else die.  
  
Eiko, you….you little brat.  
  
Leave.  
  
Go….  
  
I'm….  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
"This is where…..he was before the pile caved in."  
  
  
  
Vivi watched with amazement as Eiko slowly poured the bottle's contents on the rocks below her. Suddenly, they both had to leap back as the solid stone they had been standing on began to crack and break away. Boulders, great chunks of walls and streets began to dissolve, being eaten away by the hungry power of the green-blue liquid.  
  
  
  
The soft didn't stop there. The layers of rock and gravel beneath the top were all vanishing, too. Slowly, ever so slowly, every single pebble and stone chip had disappeared, completely evaporated into the air, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the pile.  
  
  
  
Both children waited for the dust to clear itself. They both peered down into the pieces of splayed wood and iron.  
  
  
  
Both of their jaws fell open.  
  
  
  
His red-haired head was resting against the actual bottom of the street, but his back was against the wooden frame of a former door. All it was now, was a heap of splinters. Amarant's clothes were stained with blood, and they could both see why. One of the door's splinters had penetrated his back.  
  
  
  
Vivi tried to catch Eiko as she fell to her knees. But he could feel the tears in his eyes, too. He let them run freely, because he knew that it would make things a little better, just to let it go….  
  
  
  
He tried not to look back at the still form.  
  
  
  
Amarant was not breathing any longer.  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
(Wait! Don't start crying, please! This is beginning chapter, but it is definitely not the end! I'm not saying that he's alive, but I'm not saying that he's dead, either. All I'm saying is that ANYTHING could happen, regardless to what happened in the game. You'll find out when I'm finished! LOL. Until next time…..(Which will be very soon, don't worry.) 


	5. My Eidolon

Disclaimer: Ah, well, I don't own FFIX, if you're wondering, in which, I'm SURE you're not, because no person from Squaresoft is going to post fanfiction here, are they?^_^  
  
(All right, on with the show!)  
  
************************  
  
"Zero, you disgrace me. You disgrace the name of all Eidolon life, you snake-bellied reptile."  
  
Zero Bahaumut was barely listening anymore. His flat lobes were straining to hear a distant sound, and his scaled nostrils flared red, taking in a scent, faded through the distance between time. A low, paranoid growl began to rise in the back of his throat, and he lifted his head, expanding his vast, white wings at the same time.  
  
"He's not going to live for much longer!" he roared, another throaty growl following his hostile words. "My son did this! It isn't right, considering he is the summoner's friend! I'll-"  
  
"You'll go there and set things right if need be," Ultima hissed, drawing his fingers along the black wall of nothingness. "I do not …..care if that damn |teken| lives or dies, Zero. You will live to serve the girl."  
  
"If the man dies," snapped the father of Bahaumut, "Then I will do nothing but hide in a hole of Zero space. You will never find me, and my power will seal."  
  
"You cannot do that!" Ultima roared, flaring his bright wings so suddenly, that the white, grand dragon had no choice but to cringe back. "Leave now, and serve the girl!"  
  
Zero Bahaumut scooped the "air" with his wings and roared his fury, but he was powerless to do anything but obey commands. Pumping his vast, thinly- skinned appendages, he rose into the air and dropped out of sight. He entered another part of nothingness, where no one could find him unless they were summoned. There, he hovered, and let himself growl his deepening rage.  
  
"That man…." he hissed to himself, a thoughtful expression suddenly crossing his face. "He can't die. I know his hidden power, but you are to arrogant to sense it, Ultima. Perhaps, when his feelings that control him now have destroyed your precious Gaia, you will turn to me."  
  
He suddenly thought of the girl.  
  
"No…."  
  
"No…." he repeated to himself. "I will not let it happen….If he dies, so does that power, and the last survivor of such a brave family. My father…."  
  
He didn't finish his thought. With a forceful beat of his wings, he was gone again. A mere flash of white remained where he had once been hovering. But the dragon was long gone, disappearing into the blank, but colorful area between worlds and reality.  
  
************************  
  
"Eiko, don't….p-please…." Vivi knelt at the top of the gaping hole, a took the six-year-old's hands away from her face. "He…he could still be a-alive, right? Maybe he's just breathing really….really slowly…and…" his gaze darkened, and he swallowed. "And…really quietly. V-very…"  
  
Eiko Carol shied away from his hands, but lifted a sleeve to her eyes, dabbing at the welling tears. "I-I'm not gonna cry!" she said offensively.  
  
Then she hiccupped.  
  
"Eiko!" Vivi cried, as the girl suddenly threw herself forward, over the lip of the gaping pit. He watched he scramble down the wall of rocks and gravel, before gathering enough nerve to follow her. Seconds after the violet-haired summoner stopped at Amarant's still figure, Vivi stopped as well, and stared down at the mass of flame-red hair. He wasn't going…He wasn't going to cry.  
  
Amarant lay in a helpless heap, with his head against the ground. His eyes were closed, and not even his chest rose with any slight sign life, or breath. The black mage found himself looking away, feeling sick at the horrifying sight.  
  
Eiko seemed to notice him turn his head, because she mad an annoyed, but devastated face, "It's….It's not that bad. He….he's gonna be Ok, I know it…"  
  
The girl slowly knelt on her knees, and placed a hand on the bounty hunter's chest. Then she tilted her head against it.  
  
Vivi's heart dropped into hid stomach, when she lifted her head again, expression unchanged.  
  
"Eiko…." he began, moving forward a step.  
  
"Leave me alone!" she cried, balling her fists into the air. "Just go away!!"  
  
"Eiko-"  
  
"He's dead! I went through all that, and all I wanted to do was SAVE him! He had to go and KILL himself, and now look!" she exclaimed, holding her head in her head in her hands. "The JERK!"  
  
|Little summoner……|  
  
Eiko jolted upright, eyes wide. Vivi aimed a confused, and morose look at her, and took a cautious step backwards.  
  
|Little summoner girl, stop being so angry…I cannot enter your intellect when it is so full of rage….|  
  
"Z-Zero?" Eiko stammered. Vivi took another retreating step.  
  
|I am he.|  
  
E-Eiko?  
  
Eiko stood up. That's funny, she never remembered falling down.  
  
Eiko? Eiko???  
  
The girl suddenly looked to her left, and then her right. She was….in a colorful room, where the walls and ceiling never ceased to change colors.  
  
Vivi? Where was Vivi?  
  
Eiko!!!  
  
Eiko felt her nerves go rigid with amazement, "Vivi? VIVI??"  
  
|He's safe, little summoner. I have put him to sleep. He rests comfortably in the soft arms of my home.|  
  
The six-year-old spun in a circle, tilting her head to gaze at the strange walls, "Zero! Where am I? Why did you bring me here? I want Vivi back!"  
  
|And what about your other friend?|  
  
Eiko bit her lip uncertainly. Whay kind of joke was this? "He's dead, Zero. You should…you should know that. You're an Eidolon."  
  
|Apparently, but answer the question, Eiko Carol of Madain Sari. Do you want your other friend back as well?|  
  
"Of course I do!" Eiko cried, jumping up and down. "But Amarant's…he's….he's…."  
  
|Go on…..|  
  
"He's…." the six-year-old abruptly realized what she was looking at. Against the color-shifting walls, through some sort of multi-shadowed mist….She could see someone standing with their back to her. And to her disbelief, she saw that it was Amarant. Eiko absent-mindedly lifted her hand to touch the wall and found it very cold – too cold to keep her hand on for much longer than two seconds.  
  
"He's…." the girl repeated, and then took a step back, eyes wide. "….Not dead, is he?"  
  
|Your friend is alive because right now, I hold on to his very existence – his soul in my power. Tell me, Eiko Carol, what would you do for this back?|  
  
"What…" Eiko breathed, and hiccupped. "What…would I do? For Amarant?"  
  
|That is the question.|  
  
The six-year-old summoner turned around, and slowly faced all of the other walls behind her. Much to her surprise, she found that they each held an image. One of Dagger, Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Mog, Morrison and the other moogles, Quina, Beatrix, and yes, Amarant. And then…there was Vivi. He stood in the depths of the wall on Eiko's right, staring placidly, unknowingly into the eerie length of the room.  
  
"I…." Eiko began again, and turned around again. She almost squealed with surprise, and fell on her bottom, scrambling madly away.  
  
The picture of Amarant had been replaced by a horrible, red-tinted image. It was clear, almost too clear for the six-year-old to bear. Madain Sari was in flames, and a red eye blinked mercilessly above it, sending more destruction into the village of summoners. There were noises, too. Screaming, wailing, cursing, and the unhappy sound of a great, roaring fire.  
  
Then the picture was gone. She stared into the swirling colours, and suddenly found herself leaning against the cold wall for support. Only it wasn't cold any longer. It was warm, and cool at the same time. Yes, she could remember this feeling now.  
  
It was the feeling of being whizzed through he air.  
  
*********************  
  
"OW, Hey!"  
  
Startled, Eiko found those words coming from her own mouth, and she was no longer inside of the colored room. She was flying through that air, and something had a grasp on the wing ornaments on her back. She glanced up.  
  
Amarant's smirking face glanced down at her momentarily, as if he could tell she was looking at him. Then he was no longer interested, but concentrating on climbing the vines and roots towards the top He didn't stop for breath, he didn't even ay anything. Yet.  
  
"What in the holy judgement's name are you DOING?" Eiko screeched. Or, at least, the past Eiko did. The present Eiko had no power over anything. She could only watch, and listen.  
  
"Getting even with the monkey," the red-haired man growled, and glanced to where a stunned, and sick-looking Vivi lie grasped in his right hand.  
  
"You're gonna, urf, break my wing ornaments!" the six-year-old yelled through a mouth-ful of air.  
  
"That's too damn bad."  
  
************************  
  
With a jolt, Eiko sat upright, feeling the cool stone beneath her back. Her breath came in rapid gasps, and she looked around, head snapping left, then right. She was back, in the bottom of the wide pit she'd made with the soft. Amarant lie beside her, as motionless as ever.  
  
|Eiko, answer my question. What? Would you give your own life for him?|  
  
"Ah…ugh…" Eiko uttered, and stood up on two shaky legs. Vivi was there. He stood up as well, brushing off his jacket, and straightening his pointy hat.  
  
|Is he that important? Why do you want him to live?|  
  
Suddenly, Eiko felt both overwhelmed and angry at the same time. Balling her fists at her sides, she screamed at the air.  
  
"Because he's dead! Because he died to save US! He might no BE dead, if I hadn't been such a jerk and stayed, when he told me to go! He KILLED himself, so that em an' Vivi could live!!"  
  
There was silence, and Vivi was now looking at her as if she'd just swallowed her Angel's Flute.  
  
Eiko's rapid breaths began to quieten, and she waited patiently for the Eidolon's response.  
  
|…..That is your answer? So you would give your life so he would live?|  
  
Eiko narrowed her eyes in frustration, "It's what he did for me! So yes, I would!"  
  
|Little summoner, you make me proud.|  
  
"Wha…" Eiko suddenly doubled over in shock. "What? What's with that? All of a sudden, you're PROUD of me? You're killing me, that's what you're doing! Amarant is dead! You lie!"  
  
"Da….Damn the lie," came the gruff response. Something beside the six-year- old stirred.  
  
"Eeeeeek!"  
  
Eiko practically threw herself back against the nearest boulder, staring with wide eyes at the unmoving figure of Amarant. Only, "unmoving wasn't quite the correct term to put ti anymore. The man's red tassles of hair moved slightly, as the bounty hunter attempted to lift his head.  
  
"Ahhh! Amarant!"  
  
"A-Amarant?"  
  
Both Eiko and Vivi spoke at the same time. Or, Vivi spoke, but Eiko screamed her words. Before she could help it, she'd flung herself around the tall assassin's neck, as he rose into a sitting position.  
  
The hug did not go well.  
  
The six-year-old felt herself being peeled from her grasp and then deposited with an unexpected amount of strength on the ground. Again, Amarant spoke with obvious distaste.  
  
"Go….hug someone else, you little brat. I can't believe…."  
  
|This man…..He died so you could live. I see now. That is….most touching, even to someone of my modesty. Eiko?|  
  
Eiko tilted her head to stare into the empty, blue sky, as if waiting for the great Eidolon to make an appearance.  
  
|Eiko Carol, he will not remember this.|  
  
The six-year-old stifled her surprise. "What???"  
  
Amarant and Vivi both stared at his with puzzlement.  
  
|Amarant Coral….if he does, then he will slip slowly into a state uncurable. You may find it funny if it pleases you. But I cannot simply allow the monk to remember this day. Instead, he will remember waking up on the bank of this shore. It is inevitable.|  
  
"But…." Eiko gasped, jerkign her head from the left, to the right again.  
  
|You and Vivi will remember. You, little summoner, must remember me for the next tiem I come. I will be at your service….I promise.|  
  
"But-"  
  
"Eiko?"  
  
The six-year-old summoner looked straight at the black mage, who was standing at her side now. Amarant ignores them both, and stood up, "I need some sleep," he muttered.  
  
'You were just dead! That should be enough sleep for you' Eiko thought angrily. But she turned back to Vivi, "What?"  
  
"Ah….er, was it an Eidolon?"  
  
Eiko stood up, and glanced at the Amarant, instead of responding. It was almost a miracle. The wooden splinter was gone, the blood was gone. All the was left was the numerous scratches and gashes he'd received.  
  
"It…."  
  
Eiko wasn't sure what to say. But after a few moments of thinking about it, she spun to look Vivi directly in his eyes.  
  
"You know, Vivi. It was…and Eidolon. But it was something more."  
  
Vivi blinked.  
  
Eiko smiled, "It was my Eidolon."  
  
***************************  
  
(Ahhhhhh….finally! My poor, cold fingers are almost *trembling* with exhaustion, whew! Nah, not really. I think I'll continue with me Amarant/Lani pairings, eh? I'm Canadian, eh? No, really, I am. Hehe. Someday I'll write a lemon. When I'm older, of course. I'm only 14 for cryin' out loud, lol) 


End file.
